Damar Hamlin injury – latest: Buffalo Bills star’s family release statement after player collapsed in NFL game

Kelly Stafford, the wife of LA Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, penned an emotional message on Instagram in light of the incident involving Damar Hamlin.

She wrote “it’s ok to not be ok,” and that she continues to ask herself “the tough questions” after Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field on Monday evening.

She posted: “To all the women who have significant others playing on that field.. I’m with you if you’re not ok. I’m not ok and I continue to ask myself the tough questions. I wish someone could promise us that the people we fell in love with will be those same people when they are finished playing this game, but we all know, that is a promise that can not be made.”

“We all know how hard our men work and have worked their whole lives to be on that field and we don’t take those dreams lightly.. however it does not mean we always have to be the strong/never break support. It’s ok to be vulnerable and talk about it, especially with the man you love most.”

The team said in a statement that the 24-year-old had suffered cardiac arrest on Monday night. Mr Hamlin received CPR on the field before he was taken to a hospital.

“When he was hit in that chest anteriorly, as hard as he was, it’s a phenomenon known as commotio cordis. This is when you get traumatic injury to the anterior chest, just as the heart is getting prepared to have another beat,” Dr Anthony Cardillo told CNN.

“It’s during that repolarization phase and the electromechanical activity of the heart … the heart is fuelled by electrical impulse,” Dr Cardillo noted. “If you have trauma at an exact moment, when that heart is getting ready to repolarize and beat again, you will go into cardiac arrest.”

On Monday night, football fans watched in horror as Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest after what looked like a routine tackle. Hamlin received CPR on the field and was taken away in an ambulance. The game was cancelled.

While most people were expressing sympathy or solidarity, conservative pundit Charlie Kirk leaped at the chance to spread conspiracy theories and medical misinformation about Covid vaccines. In doing so, he showed once again that the right’s approach to Covid is built on callous disregard for the safety of workers and the dignity of working people.

After Hamlin’s injury, Kirk tweeted: “This is a tragic and all too familiar sight right now: Athletes dropping suddenly.” That’s a reference to long-standing right-wing conspiracy theories falsely linking the deaths of athletes to the Covid vaccine. There is no evidence for these claims.

The right has developed an entire barrage of conspiratorial claims about athletes in particular because athletes are among the most vaccinated workers in the country. In the NFL, 94.4 percent of players were fully vaccinated in December 2021; in the NBA, it was 95 percent, and in the NHL, 99 percent.

Noah Berlatsky on the despicable response to Hamlin’s injury in certain quarters:

Moments after Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after making a tackle on 2 January, Covid-19 conspiracy theorists and right-wing personalities baselessly blamed his injuries on vaccine side effects.

Anti-vaccine influencers and right-wing media figures have also shared debunked claims about athletes allegedly collapsing after their vaccinations.

Mr Hamlin remains in critical condition after suffering a cardiac arrest, according to a statement on 3 January from the Bills team. His heartbeat was restored “on the field and he was transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further testing and treatment,” the statement said.

On his programme that night, Fox News personality Tucker Carlson falsely stated that Mr Hamlin endured a “heart attack” and said medical experts who dismissed Covid-19-related conspiracy theories are “lying” and “witch doctors”.

“What we don’t know could fill volumes,” he said. “We don’t know the answer and there is no way to know the answer.”

One final nugget from Jordon Rooney’s interview on NFL Network. He said that the family have been blown away by the ‘incredible’ support Hamlin has received from the NFL community and beyond.

“The support has been incredible,” said Rooney. “It’s made a really tough situation a little bit easier.

“Damar’s family are incredibly supportive themselves, so for them to get support like this, they’re so grateful. They’re always giving to others, so there’s so many people to rally round them. They keep saying how thankful they are.”

Damar Hamlin’s family have urged there to be no negative backlash towards the Cincinnati Bengals player who was involved in the incident that saw Hamlin’s collapse.

Wide receiver Tee Higgins was the player tacked by the Buffalo Bills safety before he went into cardiac arrest during the game on Monday night.

Higgins has largely received a huge outpouring of support over the incident but the small amount of negative feeling heading his way has been swiftly and firmly condemned by Hamlin’s family.

“Damar’s parents were a bit frustrated that Tee was receiving any kind of backlash,” said family friend and Hamlin’s marketing representative Jordon Rooney in an interview with NFL Network. “This was a regular football play.

“Tee has reached out, he’s been supportive, so the family doesn’t want any negative backlash towards him at all.”

But Jordon Rooney, a family friend and marketing representative for Hamlin, has provided an encouraging update on his health, while also clarifying earlier reports and information.

Jack Rathborn has the full story:

Candlelight vigils are being held for Damar Hamlin as the NFL player remains in critical condition in hospital.

The Buffalo Bills star collapsed on the field after a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals and suffered cardiac arrest.

This footage shows a vigil as fans offered well wishes and prayers for the young athlete.

More from that Jordon Rooney interview with NFL Network – he says that although things are headed in the right direction, it’s still too early for firm timelines of recovery.

Rooney said: “Outside of that, things have just been moving in the right direction but there’s no clarity at this point in terms of how long things are going to be, how long they’re going to take or where they are going to go.

“So for the family, it’s just a matter of seeing more positive signs and build on that.”

Damar Hamlin’s family friend and marketing representative Jordon Rooney has been speaking to Cameron Wolfe of NFL network to provide an update.

One thing he mentioned was that Hamlin was only resuscitated once, rather than the twice that had been reported when Hamlin’s uncle Dorrian Glenn spoke to the media last night.

The update from Rooney was generally positive and you can see the video below:

“Right now things are moving in a positive direction. What the doctors were looking to see, I think they saw that. I can’t speak specifically on it but things are moving in the right direction.

“There were some reports last night that he was resuscitated twice. I wanted to clarify, we misspoke, he was only resuscitated once.”